Sunday, March 08, 2009

Sunday Telegraph says Colin Powell slams Obama

In a completely unsourced Sunday Telegraph story which would make Ambrose Evans-Pritchard proud and which will inevitably be amplified by Matt Drudge and The Politico (likely the intended audience anyway), Washington correspondent Tim Shipman says --

The Sunday Telegraph understands that one of Mr Obama's most prominent African American backers, whose endorsement he spent two years cultivating, has told friends that he detects a weakness in Mr Obama's character.

"The one real serious flaw I see in Barack Obama is that he thinks he can manage all this," the well-known figure told a Washington official, who spoke to this newspaper. "He's underestimating the flood of things that will hit his desk."

There is one prominent African-American endorser who made reference to a two year decision process: Colin Powell. But note that you have to read carefully to see that the Telegraph is not even quoting Powell directly, but someone else's version of what Powell allegedly said. So how about it Tim -- are you willing to name a single source for the story, or is the flood of links from conservative websites gratification enough?

UPDATE: Sister paper the Daily Telegraph seems to have a source close to Gordon Brown, specifically with relevance to the wrong region DVD fiasco. Note the link in theme between the stories is the perception that Brown was poorly received in the US.